Rohrenbach, Cortney Jean

Rohrenbach, Cortney Jean, Age 16, of Lakeville Accidentally on May 10,
2007. Survived by parents, Colin and Lynette; brother, Colton;
grandparents, Betty Woods, Stan & Kathy Reisdorfer, and Brian (Linda)
Rohrenbach; uncles, Dan, Scott, Steve and Bryce; aunts, Donna and
Kara; godfather, Bobby; and many other loving relatives and
friends. Cortney was a sophomore at Lakeville South High School where
she was an honor student and involved in track. She also enjoyed
dance, music and many outdoor activities. In lieu of flowers,
memorials may be given to the Cortney Rohrenbach Memorial Fund, c/o
Provincial Bank, PO Box 459, Lakeville, MN 55044. Memorial service
Monday, May 14, 7PM with visitation beginning at 4PM at Christiania
Lutheran Church, 26691 Pillsbury Ave.,
Lakeville. Washburn-McReavy. Werness Bros Chapel 952-884-8145

St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
Date: May 13, 2007
Edition: St. Paul
Page: B9

		 HONORS STUDENT, 16, KILLED IN CRASH
		 WAS ADAMANT ABOUT BEING ORGAN DONOR

When a classmate teased Cortney Rohrenbach about the organ donor tab
on her driver's license, Rohrenbach teased back. An honors student at
Lakeville South High School, the sophomore was proud of her blunt wit,
her skill at pole vaulting and grouse hunting, her love of reading and
cooking -- and her commitment to donate her organs should tragedy
strike.

On Wednesday night, it did. Rohrenbach, 16, suffered a traumatic head
injury after apparently losing control of her car on Dodd Boulevard
near 240th Street, south of Lakeville. Her car veered into a ditch,
traveled 30 yards and hit a tree.

On Thursday afternoon, she was declared dead.

By Friday afternoon, she was helping at least three people continue to
live.

"They've already found a recipient for her heart, her lungs and her
liver, and they're working on (finding one for) her kidneys," her
father, Colin Rohrenbach, said in a telephone interview from North
Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale.

"She will pass on her special life to somebody else.  These were her
wishes," he said.

It was truly what she wanted, said the classmates who gathered for an
impromptu memorial service after school Friday. Dozens of students
circled around the large rock at the entrance to the school's parking
lot and sang "Amazing Grace" in her memory.

Sebastian Bergeron, 16, recalled the moment in math class when a girl
teased Rohrenbach about her donor status. Bergeron and Rohrenbach
teased the girl right back, saying they were proud to be organ donors.

After learning of her death Thursday, Bergeron and Natalie Herrild,
16, were among the students who painted the large rock with hearts and
messages for their friend. School officials set up a conference room
with a white poster board, which students quickly covered with
memorial recollections.

They also made cards for Rohrenbach's brother, Colton, 14, a freshman
at the school.

Colin and Lynette Rohrenbach said their daughter had been dropped off
at the high school Wednesday after a track meet in Faribault and was
driving home, about eight miles south of Lakeville.

About 11:30 p.m., she may have fallen asleep at the wheel, her father
said. The Minnesota State Patrol is handling the accident
reconstruction.

Rohrenbach's friends and family remembered her as a skillful pole
vaulter with the school's track team, a ballet dancer and a
hunter. She was trained to use a shotgun and loved hunting grouse but
never bagged a buck "because she was too busy reading a book," her
father said.

Even in the woods, she took books with her to pass the time, her
mother said.

Her love of reading was reflected in her high grades, and her classes
this year included honors English and Advanced Placement U.S. history.

"That may be one of -- if not the most -- difficult classes in this
school, and she was doing well in it," said John Boche, dean of
students.

Students in that class took the national AP U.S.  history exam Friday,
with Rohrenbach's death still fresh in their minds.

Rohrenbach was an avid cook and often told her family she wanted to be
a chef, but she made her parents get her orthodontic braces in her
younger years in case she decided to become a television news
reporter.

She loved to drive and got her license -- and her mother's car -- in
January. She drove her brother to and from school daily and also rode
mountain bikes and off-road vehicles.

While applying for her license, she spoke at length about organ
donation with her mother, her parents said, especially when the news
turned to coverage of a teen killed in an accident.

"It saves a life," said Herrild, who wore a paint-splattered T-shirt
with a painted purple heart -- Rohrenbach's favorite color -- and a
small purple ribbon. "She was a gem. It was a blessing to know her."

				 FYI

-- Visitation and funeral services will be ffrom 4 to 7 p.m. Monday at
the Christiana Lutheran Church, 26691 Pillsbury Ave., in Lakeville.

-- A memorial fund has been created to help  the Rohrenbach family with
medical and funeral expenses.  Donations can be made to the Cortney
Rohrenbach Memorial Fund, Provincial Bank, P.O. Box 459, Lakeville, MN
55044.

Frederick Melo can be reached at fmelo@pioneerpress.com or
651-228-2172.

St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
Date: May 12, 2007
Edition: St. Paul
Page: B1